The College of Human Medicine and the College of Nursing of Michigan State University propose a Professional Oncology Education Program. This program will assure that medical and nursing students: 1) are effectively taught the essentials of oncology; 2) acquire the background and skills to enable them to rationally provide services in cancer prevention and early detection; 3) are brought to appreciate the importance of systematic clinical studies for cancer patients; and 4) are provided opportunities for experiences relevant to cancer prevention, detection and diagnosis, and patient care. The proposed program will strentheng the basic teaching of oncology. It will improve the coherence and balance of teaching about cancer in pathology courses and will institute multi-disciplinary case-centered teaching sessions on selected cancers. It will also structure a cycle of review and improvement of the cancer-related curriculum of both colleges. The program will also initiate a number of activities focused on prevention and early detection of cancers. These include a voluntary experience-centered Cancer Prevention program for medical and nursing students, systematic teaching of epidemiological basis of cancer prevention and detection programs, instruction in behavioral knowledge and skills directly relevant to cancer prevention, teaching of relevant topics in nutrition, presentations analyzing controversial areas in cancer prevention and screening, and systematic assessment of students' competence in assessing patients' risks for significant cancers. Another set of activities will be focused on systematic clinical studies of cancer patients. These include structured discussion of issues in recruiting cancer patients to experimental protocols; facilitation of student studies with cancer registry data; and offering an annual short course on recent cancer research. Finally, a set of opportunities for extended study of cancer-related topics will be made available in Clinical Assistantships, and students will be recruited to a set of newly revised oncology electives. These activities will enhance the ability of physicians and nurses graduating from Michigan State University, especially primary care providers, to reduce the impact of cancer through more skilled care and through efforts in prevention and detection.
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